The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1887-02-03
The Coupon.
ORANGE G. H. VA, Jan

ocelVeQ IN payment DIS tdkeu ny tIcdSu- 4
ers, when it cannot be paid out as cur
ency; why it is that such an article is
bus allowed to impoverish, if not eventu-
lily destroy the public school system /; why
5 it that the Legislature had made it a
ax-paying element, and that the courts
nave decided that it is legal tax tender,
md treasurers are allowed to accept and
retain them as so much counterfeit upon
their records? If it is legal tax tender,
why can it not be circulated as currency
A SUBSCRIBER.
A coupon is an interest certificate,
printed at the bottom of transferable
bonds, Estate, railroads, &c., given for
term of years. There are as many or
these certificates as there are payments OF
interest to be made, whether annually or
semi annually. Those on the Virginia
bonds are semi-annual. At each time OF
payment one is cat off and presented for
payment. Hence it's name, coupon or cut
off.
In the debt legislation Of 1871. where
one third of the original debt of Virginia,
with accumulated interest added, was as
signed to West Virginia. for which certlh'
Gates of Indebtedness to that amount were
issued, to be held in trust by Virginia and
paid when West Virginia settled, and two
thirds assumed by Virginia, the bonds rep
resenting the two~thirds had attached to
them coupons which, by the terms OF settle
ment, were to be received by the State for
all taxes, dues and demands owed to the
State. The creditors, or the syndicate rep
resenting the creditors, demanded this
mode of securing the payment OF the In
te-est on the adjusted debt, in funding the
old bonds under the new legislation. Twen-
ty.one millions of the thirty millions as
signed to Virginia in this settlement were
| funded before the act was repealed by the
subsequent legislature. and the bonds issued
in accordance with the terms OF the fund
| ing bill of 1871, had attached to them the
tax-receivable coupons. The bonds in this
form were declared by the Supreme Court
of the State, in the case of Antoni against
| Wright to be a contract with the creditors
and under the constitution Of the United
States, no State can impair the obligation
of contract The Supreme Court of the
United States, in several opinions, have
simply ruled in accordance with the deci-
sion of the State Supreme Court, in pros
nouncing ii contract. Under these deci-
sions the coupons are receivable for taxes
and the county treasurers, under them,
have no discretion. There has been OBJ
structive legislation enacted, to delay the
operation of the coupon in its course to
the treasury, but all acts of the Virginia
Assembly absolutely prohibiting the re-
ceipt of coupons in payment of taxes have
zen and will be declared unconstitu-
tional.
The nature of the coupon is specially
defint d on its face. 1t is not ''bill OF
credit but simply tax-paying agent fol
taxes, dues and demands owed to the
State, and nothing else. There is nothing
to prevent one man from receiving them
from another in business transaction. nc
more than in an exchange of any Other
values or presumed values. That woulc
be a matter of choice and determination
with the parties to the transactions them
| SELVES, Uub III WUulu uUt 1CSdIuCO do G
legal terter in that case.
/. The legislation Of 1928, known az
pup )n-killer No /. provided mode fol
the payment of these coupons. which i'm
piled vexatious litigation and delay in theil
reception, but it did not deny their tax
paying character, or refuse their reception
by the collecting officer or treasurer. Thi:
did not violate the contract ,as the Supreme
Court, in Antoni VS.. Greenhow, decided
The legislation of 1854, which virtually
repealed that Of 1882 SO, absolutely denied
the tax-paying power of the coupons an6
: positively forbade their reception for taxes
This violated the contract, as the Supreme
, Court of tie United States declared, ant
it was further ordered that the coupon
must be received for taxes, according II
the terms of the contract printed on theil
, fice. Of course when they are received
into the treasury it is in place OF thai
mu ,h money and there their mission ends
They cannot be paid out for any purpose
for the support of schools or any other OBJ
ject Of government-and to the extent Oh
their payment is the treasury deprived Of
currency If the revenues of the State
We're ample for the payment OF the inter
est on the State debt, the support of thu
schools and the ordinary expenses OF gov
, eminent it would not be a matter OF con
Germ whether the coupons were paid in OF
not, But as it is not, and default must oc
j, cur in some of the demands upon thu
State, the payment of the interest through
the coupon throws the default upon TIN
school fund or the current expense &C
count. And of course when this alterna
tive is presented the public school inter
est is that, which suffers. There is no wa,
to prevent this default, unless by an &C
ceptable adjustment OF thedebt to the cred
itors, on basis similar to that of the Rid
dleberger bill, or to raise the taxes to NEE
the interest on the debt as it now stands
and discharge the other necessary demand
, + upon the treasury.
Something Practical.
After the defeat of the Morrison bill Ii
Con- yress. the country was asked to holt
us UTedb1 lOI dNliliC, IuC1A III. AsoAuo'
could spit on his hands and prepare to sla
the surplus. The great Democratic pro
tectionist has been buZzing around TO
weeks, holding caucuses, reco1ciling opin
IONS and endeavoring to hatch up some
thing that is really not free ira de, and We
will be suflic iently free from the flavor O
the s'robber tariff to gain the support o
the revenue reformers. So far his effort
have amounted to nothing, for the bill h,
prennsed was too near free trade to sui
! the protective Demecr ats and Republican,
and too much Randall to please Mr.. Nor
rison ant. his followers.
, To cut the matter short and show wheth
er or not the Democrats are really sincere
Judge Kelly, of Pa, has prepared bill
} and will present it ia day or two. which
absolutely abolishes the tax on tobacct
: and does nothing else. This will brini
the ques ton of the tobacco tax to squar,
], issue. untranmeled by any provision tha
can be availed of as an excnse by the
weak -kneed. 1t will place every repre-
sentative on record, and this is just wha
the people want. 1t is something practi
cal, something that everybody can under